SCAtoday.net - Italian

Dante given stay of execution

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 07:47:59 -0400

Officials in Florence, Italy have granted Dante Alighieri, Italy's most famous poet, a stay of execution. The poet was exiled in 1302 with a mandate that he "would be executed if he stepped foot in the city again."

7th century Lomard buried with horse

Mon, 7 Jul 2008 07:43:50 -0400

Italian archaeologists have discovered the burial site of a Lombard warrior interred with his horse. The skeletons were found n a park at Testona, near Turin, Italy.

"Michelangelo Code" latest renaissance mystery

Sun, 6 Jul 2008 08:03:26 -0400

Reminiscent of "The Da Vinci Code," a decades-old mystery involves the claim that Michelangelo painted subversive messages into his frescoes in the Sistine Chapel, including "secret" profile of the medieval poet Dante and a portrait of Jesus on the cross.

Rare display of Shroud of Turin scheduled

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 17:52:40 -0400

The Turin Shroud will be displayed in public for the first time in ten years, coinciding with a new series of scientific tests. The Shroud has only been displayed five times in the past century.

Renaissance textiles in Kansas City

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 17:49:24 -0400

The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Missouri will present Revealing, Reversible and Resplendent: 15th-17th-Century Italian and Spanish Textiles through August 17, 2008. The exhibit includes elaborately-embroidered and woven religious and secular pieces (photo)

Bowdoin College Museum of Art presents exhibit on Renaissance marriage

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 15:52:09 -0400

Beauty and Duty: The Art and Business of Renaissance Marriage, an exhibit which "examines the manner in which art played a vital role in the rituals and celebrations of Renaissance marriage" will be on display at the Bowdoin College Art Museum (Brunswick, Maine) until July 27, 2008. The event's website also includes games and activities for children.

Leaning Tower of Pisa extends warranty for another 300 years

Fri, 6 Jun 2008 15:29:50 -0400

Engineers studying Pisa's famous Leaning Tower feel that the structure has been saved for another 300 years thanks to a UK£20 million restoration project.

Mummies on display in Capuchin monastery

Tue, 3 Jun 2008 17:10:35 -0400

The mummified remains of over 8,000 monks and city luminaries make for a strange tourist destination, but that is what visitors will find at the Capuchin Catacombs in Palermo, Sicily. The remains date from the 16th century.

12th century campanile to be saved from fall

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 13:05:02 -0400

Experts are working to keep the 12th century bell-tower in St Mark's Square in Venice from tumbling over after a survey disclosed that the foundation was no longer supporting the structure.

Madonna of the Goldfinch shows its true colors

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 20:12:15 -0400

A recent restoration of Raphael's Madonna del Cardellino, painted in 1506, has revealed the brilliant colors of the original painting which had been hidden under centuries of grime. (Photos)

David gets a facelift

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 19:32:52 -0400

Donatello's David, the 15th century masterpiece housed at Florence's Bargello Museum, has had "work done" in the form of laser treatment to clean off residue, including gold leaf used "on the statue to highlight its wavy hair and clothing."

Inquisition "wasn't so bad after all" according to Vatican

Wed, 9 Apr 2008 16:06:08 -0400

The Vatican has created an exhibit to convince the Faithful that the Inquisition "wasn't so bad after all." The temporary Rare and Precious exhibition at Rome's Vittoriano Museum is designed to "expose some myths about this dark chapter of its past."

Roman subway excavations produce wonderful archaeological finds

Wed, 9 Apr 2008 13:01:46 -0400

Archaeologists working at the site of a subway line near the Piazza Venezia in Rome have made some incredible finds including a 6th century copper factory and artifacts from a Renaissance palace kitchen.

"Oops!" Shroud of Turin washed with a red shirt

Tue, 1 Apr 2008 10:55:24 -0400

Vatican City has announced that the venerable Shroud of Turin has been turned pink when it was accidentally washed with a red shirt. "Simply because the shroud has been given a slight pinkish tint does not in any way diminish its sanctity," Vatican spokesman Cardinal Giovanni Lajolo said during a press conference held to address the spiritual repercussions of the shroud's staining.

Plans to exhume Galileo cause controversy

Sun, 23 Mar 2008 09:02:28 -0400

Plans to exhume the body of Renaissance scientist Galileo Galilei in order to test his DNA and establish the cause of his blindness have caused problems with the Catholic Church. The Rector of the Basilica of the Holy Cross in Florence, where Galileo is buried, is opposed to the exhumation.